05 FJR1300 GEN 1 NA Model - Horn working intermediately

[grumpypoo]

I am starting cheap first but my hide is worth a switch and new horns. The wolo's are thrifty.https://www.amazon.com/Wolo-320-2T-Maxi-Sound-Universal/dp/B00029XGQ4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1454950338&sr=8-3&keywords=wolo+horn

While I agree 100% with your post, but I'm reluctant in the sense of buying parts i'm not certain have failed.

When I was a younger gentleman I had a Suzuki Forenza that was about as reliable as driving a potato.

I would always buy parts blind and not be sure if that was a problem. More specific I had a random misfire.

I bought plugs + plug wires + coil pack + valve cover + valve cover gasket + new EGR valve + cam sensor + knock sensor (not even sure why).

What did the problem turn out to be? Wrong engine inside the damn car :| They put a chevy aveo engine inside a forenza and the computer didn't quite know how to react.

It was never misfiring and needed a new ecu to match the engine.

 

[mcatrophy]

I had a total horn failure yesterday, almost squished by a truck. Ordered a pair of Wolo's and a new relay to replace the Stebels. Service history says they are 5 years old, I forgot how old they are and will start from the front back to the switch.
It looks like the switch assy. is $130.00 from Parts Shark, no idea if it's still available.

I'm reluctant to order a new switch.

I have to tear down the bike again this weekend (Coolant flush!)

So I will pull the fairings off and rewire that crap just to see. I will post back results.

If this does not work i'm going to call it a total horn failure and buy a new one.

Take the horn off, put 12 volts across it, see if it works.

 

[Fred W]

Head lights fail at the same time, don't they?

Good point. But headlights are supposed to burn out. They are consumables with a limited lifetime. As the light burns it erodes some of the tungsten filament throughout its life until it is too thin and burns out. When two bulbs begin life together and get the same exact "on" time they are very close to being spent at the same time. Then when one burns out, the total current drawn by the two lights gets halved, so the remaining bulb gets a minor boost in applied voltage and poof!

Horns don't really do any of that. Still, they would have been exposed to the same environment that may have caused them both to go out together.

I have cleaned the switch.
Horns still being stupid

Time to break out a meter and do some troubleshooting.

 

[ionbeam]

The Gen I horn circuit is simpler than the Gen II. From the fuses there is one brown wire that runs to the horns on one terminal and the other terminal is a pink wire that runs up to the handlebars. The brown wire supplies +12 volts to the horn when the ignition is on. When you press the horn button it grounds the pink wire and the horn HONKS. I have seen high current circuits on the FJR have wire issues, though they have primarily been the cooling fans and a couple of times the headlights. The problem has been the copper strands inside the insulation breaking or corroding, from the outside the wire jacket (like the brown wire) looks good or slightly darkened from heat but the wire strands inside are compromised. In the case of the radiator fans the wire would ohm good, but when the fans tried to pull a lot of current the wire couldn't pass sufficient current to run them. The wire with bad copper strands inside is most likely to be the brown +12 volts and it may ohm OK but fail under load.

Time to break out a meter and do some troubleshooting.

Yup. And do consider that the brown wire may be compromised right at the connector that goes onto the horn terminal. You may want to look into this a bit sooner than later because the same brown wire also supplies your front and rear break switches.

You may want to clip your meter's red lead to the horn's brown wire, turn on the ignition and wiggle the wires at the horn looking for an intermittent reading, then try the same again at the pink wire. The pink wire should be +12 volts until the horn button is pressed.

 

[grumpypoo]

You may want to look into this a bit sooner than later because the same brown wire also supplies your front and rear break switches.

Oh my I did not know this. Thank you for letting me know this.

 

[TomInPA]

Contact cleaner is your friend, and it's cheap.

Something else worth checking unrelated to horns, is the clutch and brake lever pivots. These get badly contaminated and require cleaning and lubrication, or they will start to wear. Just thinking a good cleanup of the switches and levers on both sides can't hurt.

 

[ionbeam]

You may want to look into this a bit sooner than later because the same brown wire also supplies your front and rear break switches.

Oh my I did not know this. Thank you for letting me know this.

Your break switches are more likely than not to still be powered OK. But there is the slight chance that mebby not. Intermittent problems are tough to track down, good luck!

 

[grumpypoo]

Intermittent problems are tough to track down, good luck!

Thanks!

I just realized I made the title >

intermediately
My lord the horn is not working on the professional level!

 

[Geezer]

Is it possible that one horn was already bad when you got the bike and the other is failing now?

In any case, the stock horns are pretty wimpy and you really won't be wasting your money if you buy a good loud horn and relay, even if the horns themselves are not the problem.

 

[grumpypoo]

Is it possible that one horn was already bad when you got the bike and the other is failing now?
In any case, the stock horns are pretty wimpy and you really won't be wasting your money if you buy a good loud horn and relay, even if the horns themselves are not the problem.

You know this is a huge possibility. It's clear from giving the bike an in depth look that the previous owner did not care. I've almost talked myself into an early valve check just to validate they are within spec. I highly doubt the previous owner did anything other than oil changes. The air filter was OEM and black (Yes black) when I swapped it out.

The spark plugs?

1,2,4 looked good

3 - jet black (not good)

I replaced all those and i'm giving it 5k miles before I pull the plugs again. If cylinder 3 is black then of course we have a big issue at hand and the motor will be coming out of the bike and onto the work bench.

So it's very much possible the stock horns were bad to begin with.

 

[BigOgre]

Lots of good advice given but I personally would rule out the horns immediately. As Mcatrophy suggested, disconnect the wires at the horn, grab two lengths of spare wire and fire each one off. Go from there.

I am starting cheap first but my hide is worth a switch and new horns. The wolo's are thrifty.https://www.amazon.com/Wolo-320-2T-Maxi-Sound-Universal/dp/B00029XGQ4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1454950338&sr=8-3&keywords=wolo+horn

Have had Wolos on mine for several years now without any issue.

 

[Hotboot]

Lots of good advice given but I personally would rule out the horns immediately. As Mcatrophy suggested, disconnect the wires at the horn, grab two lengths of spare wire and fire each one off. Go from there.

I am starting cheap first but my hide is worth a switch and new horns. The wolo's are thrifty.https://www.amazon.com/Wolo-320-2T-Maxi-Sound-Universal/dp/B00029XGQ4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1454950338&sr=8-3&keywords=wolo+horn

Have had Wolos on mine for several years now without any issue.

That is good to know, the Stebels have ingested grasshopper guts and some rain and are older than I thought. I notched the inner fairing pieces as was popular back in the day, ran some manly 12 wire and ran them through a huge relay. I had lots of energy 6 years ago.